Stars' Song: Clef

Chapter 3 : Curiosity

3-1

I slumped down on the wooden bench, causing it to produce a light creak. As I was on my own at the moment, I was left with my thoughts. A few seconds passed by before my mind was succumbed to shame.

"Hnnggg!!!" I covered my face and yelped out a muffled scream.

The thought of yesterday's events crept into my mind. I remembered each word I spouted and how it was imparted; it almost kept me up at night.

Who the hell does that anyway? Why would you approach a stranger without any preparations? First, she was minding her own business, sitting at a bench behind the school, where no one goes to. Then suddenly, some guy began talking to her out of the blue. If I was in her shoes, I would be freaked out, scared for my life, even. The purpose of going to the least populated area in a place with multiple people is to be alone. Therefore, if a random dude just appears out of nowhere...

AHH!!! I want to die! Right here! Attend the funeral and everything! I don't care anymore!

"Hi."

"AHH!" My whole body bounced on the bench, making it creak again. "You scared me...!" Hearing my high-pitched shriek caused the girl to scoff. She was none other than Chloe. Before I could explain why such a sound found its way out of me, she tossed two granola bars in my direction.

"Chloe?" I asked, puzzled by her act.

"Don't even worry about it! You are welcome!" She remarked with an empathetic tone.

"Yeah, but... what about lunch?"

"I didn't say anythin' about you breakin' your promise, though." She tilted her head and smiled.

"Right... thanks."

I could not be any happier to have her next to me. Being with her will hopefully take my mind off the stressful memories. We embarked to school together, focusing on the conversation and our insufficient breakfast.

3-2

It was lunch period, and in the same manner as yesterday, I entered the canteen alongside Chloe. I was dying for morning classes to finish because the cringeworthy scene looped in my brain the whole time. It was agonizing because I had to choose between focusing on the lectures or reliving the troubling past.

Chloe stuffed her face with canteen food. "Mmm!" Whoa, why do you enjoy it so much? "Food tastes better when it's free!" Ah, figures. Thanks for answering my question, I guess.

I couldn't help but fidget in my seat. I poked the cuisine on the table with a fork, expecting it would defocus me. By just staring at it, the quality of the food appeared mediocre at best. Great, I feel even worse now. This is such a fabulous day, yay.

"You know," She gulped before continuing. "you're kinda like the girl with braces in 'Finding Nemo'. You remember her?"

"Why, 'cuz she was cute?" I answered, using the edge of a fork to stab a tiny piece of carrot with no caution.

"Ha? What? No, 'cuz she was a brat," She replied, her face twisting as a reaction to my response. "Why the hell did ya say 'cute'? She was annoyin' as hell. Do ya even remember her scene? She was shakin' Nemo in a plastic bag, yellin' 'wake up, wake up!'." She raised the pitch of her voice higher than average as she played a character. "It wasn't cute at all. Are we even talkin' about the same thing? June?"